RPW Exclusive: Darren Smith’s “Almost” Night At New Egypt; Peter Britten Starts ’24 Super DIRTcar Season Strong

Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – NEW EGYPT, NJ – It was very nearly a storybook night Saturday night at New Egypt Speedway for Darren Smith during the 2024 Super DIRTcar Series lid-lifter.

However, it still turned out to be a career night for the third year series regular and was also a great start to a Super DIRTcar Series title hunt for Batman, Peter Britten, who came home third.

Smith led the 75-lap main event on multiple occasions and very nearly parking his #12 Jeremy Smith Racing Bicknell machine in victory lane but came up one spot short after getting passed late in lap traffic.

Even though he wasn’t holding the big check, Smith was all smiles following a masterful drive in the Garden State.

“We came down here with a great game plan,” Smith said. “Scott (Jeffery, Smith’s Crew Chief) and the boys did a hell of a job.”

After finishing second to Matt Sheppard in his heat race and making the redraw, Smith pulled the number five spot to begin the feature. From the drop of the green, however, the Binghamton, NY driver let everyone at New Egypt know he was quick, getting to second by the end of lap one.

Then, Smith began to search the race track for the best lane to run and found the outside, which he used to his advantage, getting around leader Tanner Van Doren on lap 34.

He looked to be ready to set sail on the competition until a caution just six laps later bunched the field back up. Smith chose the bottom on the restart with Peter Britten along side.

Britten made a killer crossover move coming off turn two on the green to get to the inside of Smith. That sent driver 12 back to the top and by the time the two got to the start / finish line, Smith held the top spot by a bumper.

It looked like all of stars were aligning Saturday and the night was going to be Darren’s to pick up his first career Super DIRTcar Series victory. But, as the race entered the final few circuits, the leaders encountered lap traffic and Anthony Perrego was able to sneak under for the top spot and eventually the victory.

“I didn’t think I made a mistake,” he said. “I just think Anthony made a hell of a move. We got to the lap car (Daniel Johnson) and I just wasn’t aggressive enough.”

“Honestly, I didn’t think anybody would be able to roll me on the outside down in (turns) three and four,” he said. “I was wrong. Anthony did and dove under me. Then, that was it.”

Smith and his team took advantage of an open practice session at New Egypt Friday night and left scratching their heads a little bit. However, after Saturday night, that opinion changed.

“I was a little scared after last night,” he said. “But, the guy who jumped on the grader today to prep the track knows what he’s doing.”

Britten Kicks Off ’24 Title Hunt Strong…

Peter Britten was able to get his 2024 Super DIRTcar Series points chase off to a fine start with a solid podium finish. Britten was in the hunt all race long and, as stated, very nearly had the lead at one point.

“I’ll definitely take that,” Britten said. “I don’t think we were as good as we needed to be, really. It actually surprised me how long we were able to stay in the mix.”

Just like Smith, although it wasn’t the checkered flag, Britten was all smiles after the 75-lap main was completed, seeing how well his #21a ran and placing in the top three.

“Overall, I think we had a pretty good race,” he said. “Congrats to (Anthony) Perrego and I thought Darren was going to win it there for a while.”

After setting quick time in qualifying and winning his heat race and coming home third in the feature, it was a solid evening at New Egypt for the Australian campaigner as he chases his first Super DIRTcar Series crown.

“This is a great way to start the points battle,” he said. “You just want to be up front. That’s my aim. You try to be fast at the start of the night, get yourself up front.

Saturday, even though his team was good, Britten feels like he missed just a bit.

“Hopefully next time we’ll nail the setup a little better,” he said. “Then, we might be able to push to the win.”

However, in true Britten fashion, there was a smile on his face post-race. While not satisfied with a third place result, you could still tell he was happy.

“I have to give a big thank you to Rich, Randy and everyone that helps me out,” he said. “It was good to have a decent run here. We’ll take it and see if we can keep the momentum rolling into the next races.”